My January 2020 Photo of the Month is WND20, another sunset photograph from San Diego’s Windansea Beach.
WND20 Background – Crowds At Windansea
I had to work to create this image at Windansea. I had a spot a bit to the right picked out. The beach was busy, but people were moving around, and that lane was clear. I was also making long exposures, so a quickly moving person disappears from frame over 30 seconds.
If you are a photographer, you know exactly what happens next. 3 people walked by me, and 1 even said, “taking some nice pics?” I hate the word pics, by the way.
Immediately, Person 1 set up a beach towel for Person 1 and Person 2. And it was set up directly in front of my camera. If I had clicked my shutter then, you would have thought I shot them as a foreground. Person 3 was carrying a soccer ball, but they were sitting on rocks that aren’t conducive to playing soccer. Person 1, Person 2, and Person 3 were really frustrating me.
I then moved, and tried to make some noise and show some exasperation. It was lost on them.
The rocks at Windansea can do many things for your compositions. They are often perfect foregrounds, and sometimes a few puddles will add some nice reflection. People like to do this at sunset, like Hospitals Reef to the North, but I don’t mind some nice blue reflecting from the dark reef rocks.
I really can’t blame the Person Crew, because the situation really is a statement about what California is. A really nice and scenic place, with way too many people.
Even though I can probably live without yet another Windansea sunset for the rest of my life, I can take some peace, quiet, and respite in what has been a difficult and stressful world of late.
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the image.
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T.M. Schultze is a San Diego-based photographer, traveller, and writer. He writes, photographs, and draws things of the outdoors that have inspired humans for thousands of years. He co-authored the Photographer’s Guide to Joshua Tree Park which can be purchased here.
You made the water smooth as a sheet of glass.